page_title: Toronto Argonauts
section_title: Stadiums
hierarchical_section_title: Toronto Argonauts / Stadiums
caption_attribution_description: English: Panoramic photograph of a Toronto Argonauts' game.
context_page_description: The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the team was founded in 1873, and is the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name, and they are the oldest-surviving team in both the modern-day CFL and East Division. The team's origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in North America in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The Argonauts played their home games at Rogers Centre from 1989 until 2016 when the team moved to BMO Field, the fifth stadium site to host the team.
  The Argonauts have won the Grey Cup a record 17 times and have appeared in the final 23 times. Most recently they defeated the Calgary Stampeders 27–24 in the 105th Grey Cup in 2017. The Argonauts hold the best winning percentage in the championship game and have the longest active winning streak in games in which they have appeared, at six. The Argonauts have faced every current western CFL team at least once in the Grey Cup, while their most celebrated divisional rivalry has been with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
context_section_description: The Toronto Argonauts' first home was Rosedale Field at Mount Pleasant Road and MacLennan Avenue near the city centre. The team suggests its capacity was 10,000 total with 4,000 seated, though O'Leary and Parrish list smaller numbers, noting that a $32,000 renovation in 1883 allowed for a capacity of 2,000. The field has historic significance as the site of the first Grey Cup game in 1909; the CFL lists the game's attendance as 3,807. The field still exists as part of Rosedale Park, although there are no grandstands.
  Sources again differ on when the team permanently moved to Varsity Stadium on the grounds of the University of Toronto. The team gives dates of 1874–1897 and 1908–1915 at Rosedale, while other sources suggest the team had moved to Varsity by 1911. Varsity would become indelibly linked with the Argonauts and the early years of Canadian football; it was the home field of the great Argo dynasties of the 1930s and 1940s. For most of the Argos time at the stadium, its capacity was about 16,000, but this jumped above 20,000 with a renovation in 1950. Although it has not hosted a professional game since 1958, it still holds the record for hosting the most Grey Cups with 30.
  Another home beckoned in 1959 with the renovation of the new Exhibition Stadium to accommodate Canadian football. Often remembered ruefully by Torontonians for its exposure to weather and poor sightlines, the stadium was nevertheless the site of the Argos' greatest attendance in the late 1960s and 1970s. Particularly brutal conditions at the 70th Grey Cup in 1982 paved the way for the construction of a domed stadium in Toronto.
  Rogers Centre (Skydome before 2004) had provided the Argonauts a marquee venue from 1989 to 2015, but also been criticized for its football sightlines and atmosphere. Even crowds of about 30,000 looked sparse in a stadium that seats up to 50,000 people. The domed environment did, at least, remove the elements and was an advantage to passers and comfortable for fans. Two critical opportunities to find a new home were missed in 2004 and 2005: plans for a revamped Varsity Stadium to accommodate CFL-sized crowds were thwarted by community opposition in 2004, and the Argonauts withdrew from an alternate plan at York University the following year.
  It was announced in 2013 that Rogers Centre's artificial turf would be replaced by natural grass within five years to better facilitate Toronto Blue Jays baseball. Replacing the playing surface would require permanently locking Rogers Centre into its baseball configuration, making it impossible to host CFL games. (However, since this time the stadium has retained its artificial turf surface [albeit with a full dirt infield], and it is unclear whether it will be replaced.) The stadium issue generated significant press and raised concerns over the team's long-term viability given that the Argonauts' losses have been estimated anywhere from $2 to $6 million annually. While various stadium rumours swirled over the course of David Braley's tenure (including building a new facility), it became increasingly clear that a move to a renovated BMO Field was the only viable option.
  The BMO Field move became finalized on May 20, 2015, concurrent with the announcement of the team's sale to a consortium of MLSE shareholders Larry Tanenbaum and Bell Canada. The team moved following the completion of stadium renovations for the 2016 season. The $120 million renovation plan had originally been announced in March 2014, and raised the stadium's seating capacity from 21,566 seats to 30,000 for soccer, with 25,000 seats in CFL configuration (due to space and safety issues, the endzones are only 18 yards deep [as opposed to the standard 20 yards], with part of both end zones covered in artficial turf, the remainder of the field has natural grass), and is temporarily expandable with additional endzone seating to 40,000 for big events such as a Grey Cup. The agreement required MLSE to reach a "long-term use (i.e. 20 years)" lease with the Argos for usage of the stadium. The inclusion of the CFL configuration 
caption: Panoramic view of the Argonauts home game at Rogers Centre. The stadium hosted home games for the Argonauts from 1989 to 2015
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